TWI448803B - Water-proofing image-capturing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Waterproof image capturing device

The invention relates to an image capturing device with waterproof function, in particular to an image capturing device capable of adjusting internal pressure to prevent fluid from penetrating to image capturing when the fluid pressure outside the image capturing device is excessively large. Damaged inside the unit.

As humans record the way life changes, begin to pay attention to the development of art level and the continuous advancement of technology, digital cameras have become an essential 3C product for almost one person. When you are engaged in tourism, big food, snorkeling or swimming, you will always have a digital camera to record the beauty of each moment. Of course, although there are various cameras on the market that can provide waterproof images for shooting images in water, there are still deficiencies in resisting huge water pressure to prevent water from penetrating into the interior of the camera and damaging electronic components.

The waterproof function of digital cameras can be achieved in two ways. One is to cover the digital camera by a sealed complete receiving box or sealed bag to avoid direct penetration of the fluid, and the other is to set the elastic airtight material to the housing and the other when assembling the housing of the digital camera. At a joint of a casing, the elastic airtight material placed on the casing is pressed against each other to seal the constituent digital camera casing to prevent foreign matter from entering or preventing fluid from penetrating into the shell of the digital camera. The internal parts of the body cause the failure of related electronic parts. However, these two types of waterproofing mechanisms are limited by the characteristics and life of the sealing material. When a camera with such a waterproof function is used under a high water pressure for a long time, it is easy to cause a rupture of the sealed bag due to an excessive pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the camera, and the elastic of the sealing material is tired, causing a fluid gap such as water to enter the camera. The inside of the casing causes damage to the camera.

Therefore, in terms of demand, an image capturing device capable of adjusting the internal pressure of the casing is designed under the premise that the camera casing itself is sealed, so as to reduce the impact of the pressure difference on the camera sealing material, and provide a countermeasure against the impact of the pressure difference on the camera sealing material. The high-pressure waterproof image capturing device has become an urgent issue in the market.

In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide an image capturing device with waterproof function to solve the problem that a camera with a waterproof function is caused by a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the camera, resulting in a sealed bag blasting or sealing material. The elasticity is so tired that fluids such as water crease into the interior of the camera housing and damage the camera.

According to the purpose of the present invention, an image capturing device with waterproof function is provided, which comprises an adjustable body, a first sensing unit and a pressure control module. The body has an accommodating space for accommodating the electronic component set, and the first sensing unit is a first pressure value measured by a pressure disposed outside the body for sensing the position of the body. The pressure control module is disposed in the accommodating space of the body and electrically connected to the first sensing unit. The pressure control module comprises: a second sensing unit, a processing unit and a pressing unit. The second sensing unit is configured to sense the pressure of the accommodating space to measure the second pressure value, and the processing unit receives the first pressure value and the second pressure value, and compares the relative magnitudes of the two pressure values, and determines Whether the difference between the two pressure values is greater than a preset value to provide a pressure adjustment message, a pressure relief adjustment message, a stop pressure message, or a stop pressure relief message. Wherein, when the second pressure value is less than the first pressure value and the difference between the two pressure values is greater than the preset value, the processing unit provides a pressure adjustment message to the pressurizing unit, and the pressurizing unit is connected to the processing unit Receiving the pressurization adjustment message and releasing a gas to the accommodating space until the second pressure value is increased to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than the preset value, the processing unit provides a stop pressurization message to the pressurizing unit.

In addition, the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention preferably further includes a pressure relief unit disposed on the body for removing the pressure of the accommodating space and when the second pressure value is greater than the first pressure value. When the difference between the two pressure values is greater than the preset value, the processing unit provides the pressure relief adjustment message to the pressure relief unit. The pressure relief unit is electrically connected to the processing unit for receiving the pressure relief adjustment message, and automatically removing the gas in the accommodating space until the second pressure value is reduced to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than a preset value. In addition, when the second pressure value decreases to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than a preset value, the processing unit provides a stop pressure relief message to the pressure relief unit.

Preferably, the water-repellent image capturing device of the present invention further comprises an air intake unit disposed on the body for providing manual pressure, and the manual pressure is applied to the accommodating space by manually driving the gas into the accommodating space. carry out. The pressure relief unit further provides manual pressure relief, and the manual pressure relief system is completed by manually opening the pressure relief unit to remove the gas in the accommodation space.

According to the above, the waterproof image capturing device according to the present invention may have one or more of the following advantages:

(1) This image capture device can provide manual or automatic pressure adjustment function for added convenience.

(2) The image capturing device can provide a user to manually inject a small amount of gas into the accommodating space inside the casing through the air intake unit to pre-charge and press the accommodating space, or can be manually opened and unloaded in advance. The pressing device pre-depresses the accommodating space to avoid Excessive internal and external pressures cause excessive impact on the sealing material of the image capturing device and prevent water from infiltrating into the interior.

(3) The image capturing device can automatically sense the internal pressure of the image capturing device through the pressure sensing unit and the pressure control module, and automatically control the internal pressure of the image capturing device through the pressing unit and the pressure relief unit. Adjusting, this automatic pressure adjustment makes the adjustment of the internal pressure of the image capturing device more maneuverable, and can prevent the problem that the internal and external pressure difference is too large, causing the sealing material to be elastic and fatigue, causing the water gap to enter the device.

1 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of an image capturing device with waterproof function according to the present invention.

2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a pressure control module of the image capturing device with waterproof function of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of automatic pressure control of the image capturing device with waterproof function of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view showing an embodiment of the state of use of the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing one embodiment of manual pressurization of the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention.

The embodiments of the image capturing device with waterproof function according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the related drawings. For the sake of understanding, the same components in the following embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The image capturing device of the present invention may be a portable electronic device with a camera function such as a digital camera, a camera phone, a smart phone or a digital video camera. For a better understanding of the technical features of the present invention, the following is a digital camera as an embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an image capturing device with waterproof function according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention comprises a body 10, a first sensing unit 11, a pressure control module 12, a pressure relief unit 13, and an air intake unit 14. The body 10 is an image capturing device. In this embodiment, the body 10 is a digital camera. As shown in the figure, the first sensing unit 11 is disposed outside the body 10 for sensing the pressure value of the external environment where the body 10 is located to obtain a first pressure value, and the first sensing unit 11 can be a pressure. A sensor and can be a pressure sensor in any sensed form. The pressure relief unit 13 is disposed on the body 10 and communicates with the internal and external spaces of the body 10 for removing the internal pressure of the body 10. The pressure relief unit 13 can be a pressure relief valve. The air intake unit 14 is disposed on the body 10, and communicates with the inside and the outside of the body 10, which may be an air inlet hole, and the air inlet hole is in a sealed state when not in use. The pressure control module 12 is located inside the body 10 to sense the internal pressure of the body 10 to obtain a second pressure value, and after receiving the first pressure value and comparing the ground pressure value, the body is compared according to the comparison result. 10 is internally pressurized or depressurized to increase or decrease the second pressure value to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than a predetermined value.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, it is a schematic diagram of the configuration of one embodiment of the pressure control module of the image capturing device with waterproof function of the present invention. As shown, the pressure control module 12 includes a second sensing unit 121, a processing unit 122, and a pressurizing unit. 123. As shown in FIG. 2 , the pressure control module 12 is electrically connected to the first sensing unit 11 and the pressure relief unit 13 . The second sensing unit 121 is a pressure sensor for sensing the internal pressure of the body 10 to measure a second pressure value, and the second sensing unit 121 can be any type of pressure sensor; the processing unit The 122 system provides receiving the first pressure value and the second pressure value, and comparing the relative magnitudes of the first pressure value and the second pressure value, and determining whether the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure is greater than a preset value. Then, according to the comparison result, a pressure adjustment message, a pressure relief adjustment message, a stop pressure message or a stop pressure relief message to the pressurizing unit 123 or the pressure relief unit 13 are provided.

The setting of the preset value of the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure may be set according to factors such as a pressure difference that the entire electronic device can withstand or a characteristic of the sealing material. When the processing unit 122 determines that the second pressure value is less than the first pressure value and the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure is greater than the preset value, a pressure adjustment message is transmitted to the pressing unit 123 to notify the pressing unit 123 to perform The action of pressurizing releases the gas to the inside of the body 101. During this process, the second sensing unit 121 continuously senses the pressure change inside the body 10 until the amount of gas released causes the pressure value inside the body to be the second pressure. When the value is increased to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than the preset value, the processing unit 122 immediately transmits an action of stopping the pressurization message to the pressurizing unit 123 to stop the pressurization.

On the other hand, when the processing unit 122 determines that the second pressure value is greater than the first pressure value and the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure is greater than the preset value, a pressure relief adjustment message is transmitted to the pressure relief unit 13 to notify the pressure relief unit. 13 performing a decompression action to remove the gas pressure in the internal space of the body 10, during which the second sensing unit 121 will continuously continuously sense the pressure change inside the body 10 until the amount of gas removed causes the body to be internal. The pressure value of the space, that is, the second pressure value is lowered to be different from the first pressure value by less than the preset At the time of the value, the processing unit 122 immediately transmits an action of stopping the pressure relief message to the pressure relief unit 13 to stop the pressure relief. In addition, when the processing unit 122 determines that the difference between the second pressure value and the first pressure value is less than the preset value, the action of any pressurization or decompression is not performed.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a flow chart of automatic pressure control of the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the method includes the steps of: S31, sensing a pressure of a position of the image capturing device to measure a first pressure value; and S32, sensing a pressure of the internal space of the image capturing device to measure a first a second pressure value; S33, comparing the relative magnitude of the first pressure value and the second pressure value, and determining whether the second pressure value is less than the first pressure value and whether the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is greater than a preset If the second pressure value is less than the first pressure value and the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is greater than a predetermined value, then the process proceeds to step S341 to perform a pressurization operation. Otherwise, proceed to step S342 to determine whether the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is greater than a preset value, and if the judgment is continued, the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is greater than a preset value. Then, the process proceeds to step S351 to perform a pressure relief operation. However, if the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is not greater than a predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S352, and no pressurization or decompression is performed. action.

In addition, during the operation of decompressing or pressurizing, the system continuously returns to step S31, and it is determined again according to each step whether the pressurizing action or the decompressing action can be stopped. During decompression or pressurization, when it is determined that the second pressure value is decreased to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than a preset value, or the second pressure value is increased to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than a preset value At the same time, the processing unit 122 transmits a stop pressure relief message to the pressure relief unit 13 or a stop pressure message to the pressurizing unit 123 to stop the pressurization or pressure relief.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the use state of the image capturing device with waterproof function of the present invention. As shown in the figure, it is a schematic diagram of a user using the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention to engage in snorkeling activities. In this embodiment, when the user wears the digital camera 1 and gradually sinks from the sea surface from the sea level, the first sensing unit 11 and the second sensing unit 121 continuously sense the digital cameras in the process. The pressure of the external and internal spaces is then analyzed by the pressure control module 12 to determine the relative relationship between the first pressure value and the second pressure value.

Since the seawater pressure is equal to the snorkeling depth (H) multiplied by the seawater density (D), as the user continues to sink from the sea surface, the external pressure felt by the digital camera will continue to rise, and its feeling The external pressure is the sea level atmospheric pressure at that time plus the seawater pressure at the snorkeling depth, and since the internal pressure of the camera is maintained at the same atmospheric pressure, the seawater pressure felt when the user drops to a depth (H) exceeds the preset value. The pressure control module 12 built in the digital camera transmits a pressure adjustment message to the pressurizing unit 123. During the pressurization process, the user may continue to drop, so the pressurization process continues. When the difference between the external pressure value of the user's last depth and the internal pressure value of the digital camera is less than the preset value, the pressure inside the camera will stay at the time when the user finally stays at a fixed depth of seawater. a second pressure value, at which time the subtraction value of the second pressure value and the first pressure value of the digital camera at the depth of the seawater is within a range of positive and negative pre-difference values.

On the other hand, when the user snorkels and the digital camera is continuously raised from the sea surface to the sea level, the first sensing unit 11 and the second sensing unit 121 also continuously sense the external and internal parts of the digital camera. The pressure of the space is further analyzed by the pressure control module 12 to analyze the relative relationship between the first pressure value and the second pressure value.

And because the seawater pressure is equal to the depth of snorkeling (H) multiplied by the density of seawater (D), The external pressure experienced by the digital camera decreases as the depth of the seawater gradually decreases, and the external pressure it feels is also the sea level atmospheric pressure at that time plus the seawater pressure at the depth of the seawater. When the user rises to a height from the specific snorkeling depth to the sea level, at this time, the external pressure of the digital camera, that is, the first pressure value decreases with the rising height, and when the reduced pressure value causes the interior of the digital camera When the pressure value, that is, the difference between the second pressure value and the first pressure value is greater than a preset value, the pressure control module 12 built in the digital camera transmits a pressure relief message to the pressure relief unit 13, at the pressure relief During the process, the user may continue to rise, so the process of pressure relief will continue until the difference between the external pressure value of the user's last depth and the internal pressure value of the digital camera is less than the preset value, that is, when the user Finally, when staying at a fixed depth of seawater, the pressure inside the camera will stay at a second pressure value, at which time the second pressure value is related to the first pressure value of the digital camera at the depth of the seawater. The depreciation is within the range of positive and negative pre-differences.

In addition, the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention can automatically detect the internal and external pressures of the image capturing device through the first sensing unit 11, the pressure control module 12 and the pressure relief unit 13 . The difference is used to automatically pressurize or depressurize the internal space of the image capturing device, and the gas can be manually driven in advance by the air intake unit 14 disposed outside the image capturing device by manual pressure. To the internal space of the image capture device. Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of manual pressure application of the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the user can use one beforehand in the snorkeling exercise. The inflator 20 is aligned with the air intake unit 14, such as an air intake hole, to drive a gas into the internal space, and the internal space is manually pressurized in advance. On the contrary, the user can manually open the pressure relief unit 13 such as the pressure relief valve to manually depressurize.

In summary, the waterproof image capturing device of the present invention can automatically sense the internal and external pressure of the image capturing device through the pressure sensing unit and the pressure control module, and pressurize and unload the device. The pressure unit automatically adjusts the internal pressure of the image capturing device. This automatic pressure adjustment makes the adjustment of the internal pressure of the image capturing device more maneuverable, and can prevent the pressure difference between the internal and external pressures from being too large, causing the sealing material to be elastic and fatigue. Problems entering the device. In addition, the image capture device provides manual pressure adjustment for added convenience.

The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any equivalent modifications or alterations to the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

11‧‧‧First sensing unit

12‧‧‧ Pressure Control Module

121‧‧‧Second sensing unit

122‧‧‧Processing unit

123‧‧‧ Pressurizing unit

13‧‧‧Relief unit

Claims (10)

An image capturing device with a waterproof function, comprising: a body having an accommodating space for accommodating an electronic component set; a first sensing unit disposed outside the body for sensing the body a first pressure value is measured by the pressure value of the external environment of the position; and a pressure control module is disposed in the accommodating space of the body and electrically connected to the first sensing unit, the pressure control The module includes: a second sensing unit configured to sense a pressure value in the accommodating space to measure a second pressure value; and a processing unit receives the first pressure value and the second pressure value And comparing the relative magnitude of the first pressure value and the second pressure value, and determining whether the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is greater than a predetermined value to provide a pressure adjustment message, and unloading Pressing the adjustment message, a stop pressurization message or a stop pressure relief message; and a pressurizing unit receiving the pressurization adjustment message from the processing unit and releasing a gas into the accommodating space until the second pressure value Increased to the first pressure value And the gas prevents the water located outside the body from infiltrating into the accommodating space of the body by the second pressure value, thereby avoiding damaging the electronic component group located in the accommodating space; wherein, when the second pressure is When the value is less than the first pressure value and the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is greater than the preset value, the processing unit provides the pressure adjustment message to the pressurizing unit, and when the second pressure When the value is increased to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than the preset value, the processing unit provides the stop pressurization message to the Pressurizing unit. The portable electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a pressure relief unit disposed on the body and communicating with the inner and outer spaces of the body for removing the pressure of the receiving space . The portable electronic device of claim 2, wherein when the second pressure value is greater than the first pressure value and the difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value is greater than the preset value The processing unit provides the pressure relief adjustment message to the pressure relief unit. The portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein the pressure relief unit is electrically connected to the processing unit for receiving the pressure relief adjustment message from the processing unit, and automatically dismounting the receiving device. The gas in the space is reduced until the second pressure value is equal to the first pressure value. The portable electronic device of claim 4, wherein the processing unit provides the stop pressure relief message when the second pressure value decreases to a difference from the first pressure value that is less than the predetermined value. To the pressure relief unit. The portable electronic device of claim 2, further comprising an air intake unit disposed on the body and communicating with the inner and outer spaces of the body for providing manual pressure, the manual adding The pressure system is completed by manually injecting gas into the accommodating space. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the air intake unit comprises an air inlet hole, and the air inlet hole is in a sealed state when not in use. The portable electronic device of claim 2, wherein the pressure relief unit further provides manual pressure relief, which is accomplished by manually opening the pressure relief unit to remove gas in the accommodation space. . The portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein the pressure relief unit Includes a pressure relief valve. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the pressurizing unit comprises a small compressed gas cylinder.